Saturday, December 15, 2012

Making Hay (appear)

Snow is coming, honest. The weathermen are calling for a few inches and I am getting ready. I'm heading north into Hebron to pick up hay. I'm entirely out of it here, stuck in-between deliveries. So shortly I'll get into some warm clothes, defrost the truck and with Gibson riding shotgun head up the road to my hoofstock's favorite place for take out: Nelson Greene's Farm.

So being out of hay is always a little unnerving. I had plans to have a bunch delivered here last week but that fell through at the last minute. It happens. The last bales were fed this morning. The good news is it was a great year for haying and I have several sources willing to sell me as much as I can afford. With a few inches on the way it would be nice to have a few days stacked up in the barn while I wait for that month-long load to arrive in Nelson's big farm truck. If I can make two trips and get 20-30 bales stacked up today I'll fall asleep a content woman.

Today is all about putting up feed in the morning and heating up the house with the woodstove all afternoon so tomorrow and Monday I can enjoy a few days of snowfall. I'll be plenty busy with a desk-full of design job and writing waiting for me, but today is about making hay. I'm excited to get those bales loaded, and will be relieved when they are dry and set aside in the little barn making roosters happy as night perches.

5 Comments:

Much farther north than you, I can feel the penetrating cold and the rapt pause while we wait for the same snowstorm! Today is dedicated to lugging wood indoors (it always burns better if it is at the house's temperature rather the temp on the doorstep!)and hoping for christmas shoppers to pop by before the storm starts. I have a nice plain wreath on my door, now I must look out the tartan ribbon to make a bow for it! I hope you get all the hay you will need before this starts.

There is something special about the feeling you get when you know the storm is coming and you are prepared - feed for the animals, feed for yourself and shelter and a warm fire - it must go back to our primitive ancestors sitting in caves beside warm fires while the wind whistles and the snow blows.

Here in lower Michigan it was a terrible year for hay. We got an unusually warm and early spring and then were hit with several hard frosts. Then we got hit with a draught. Our field (along with most others) only produced half of its usual harvest leaving us buying hay. Prices range from $7 - $9 a bale, bringing up to $13 at the auctions. Needless to say it has been a bit nerve wrecking here trying to find hay! Hopefully next year will be more normal.

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About Me

The blog of author Jenna Woginrich of Cold Antler Farm. Jenna is a 33-year old full time writer. She writes about her adventures following her dream life as a homesteader, archer, falconer, equestrian, hunter, spinner, and low-rent cook. Follow along, it never gets boring!